Apple did something unexpected and what some would call unprecedented -- they opened the iPad App Store early. The App Store started to include iPad apps on Thursday this week -- an unusual move for a company that generally waits to make stuff like this available at the last minute. We did not expect to see these apps until until iPad launch day. So is there a catch?

There is no catch as far as we can tell. The apps started appearing in the Store and all of them were available for immediate purchase and download. The number of apps for sale in the store is hard to guess since Apple is uploading them by the hundreds. We suspect there are at least 2,500 or so by now. There are a wide variety of apps available. So why is Apple making these apps available so quickly?

We think this is happening for four reasons : (1) Apple may be hoping to eliminate overloaded servers on launch day like they had when the iPhone 3GS was released, (2) Apple may be trying to get as many apps in the store as possible for launch day, (3) Steve Jobs wants us to have something to do when we finally get our iPads, or (4) Apple is giving developers a chance to test the water for customer acceptance of new higher app prices. We think the first three are great things to take note about, but it is the fourth item that is most important.

Developers are touting the increased size of the iPad screen, which has lead to some questionable app improvements and seems to be one excuse for higher prices. Many developers have indeed significantly updated their apps are seem to be worth the extra cost. There are a lot of reasons developers can give for the higher prices, but it is to early to tell if consumers will buy into this concept. One reason we doubt will fly with many consumers, is that just making an app larger will justify an upgrade price.

Initial reaction by consumers to the early opening of the iPad App Store seems to indicate that lack luster initial sales on the days prior to iPad launch day may be forcing some developers to lower their prices already. You can see some examples of this on Appshopper.com.

The remaining big question is will consumers accept these higher prices or simply wait to see what developers do? We plan on waiting things out for games and some other apps, but we’ve already purchased some productivity apps like Bento, Pages, etc. In some cases we were glad to see some of our iPhone apps claiming iPad compatibility – but until we have an iPad in our hands we won’t know what that means exactly.

We've all been spoiled by iPhone app prices and the expectation that brings, so we may not be ready to accept app prices at $15 and higher.